


watch me fade away

by iuniore



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: AU where link is defeated by ganon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, End of the World, Gen, Heavy Angst, Minor Character Death, take the archive warnings seriously! more warnings in the notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 23:33:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19283464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iuniore/pseuds/iuniore
Summary: when the hero dies in battle, the war is already lost.





	watch me fade away

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is not a happy story. if you couldn't tell, it explores very dark themes and doesn't get a happy ending.
> 
>  
> 
> warnings include:  
> -descriptions of death  
> -drowning  
> -child death  
> -hypothermia & hyperthermia  
> -starving/dehydration  
> -watching your friends die

when the hero dies in battle, the war is already lost.

the world had been stagnant in the last one hundred years. civilisations had struggled under the lack of food or the large armies of monsters that seemed to grow ever stronger. hyrule castle— once the pride and joy of the land, the centrepiece to hyrule itself— had been shrouded in a heavy black mist, with spots of a glaring red that somewhat resembled eyes managing to become what haunted the childrens’ dreams.

the world has changed so much but so little.

ruins litter the land, once-strong pillars and archways becoming nothing more than a place to cower once a monster spotted you. it wouldn’t be long until they sniffed you out anyway, but at least you have a little longer to say your prayers to a god who doesn’t exist.  if the old buildings haven’t completely crumbled, then at least their windows would be shattered, or the stone would have been coated in a plant-like green from where nature had reclaimed her stolen land.

it only grows worse once the hero dies in battle.

it’s as if someone had applied a filter to the world. the sky remains a constant grey, the sunshine a rare appearance, even in the desert. the thunder plateau, after breaking free from its typical restraints from not too long ago, seems to return to its old ways, spreading it further across the land until metal is too dangerous to be around at all times.

the citizens of eastern hyrule drown, their entire lives washing away with them. the trees and animals and monsters go with them, disappearing in the flood from legends. the comforting blue glow from the sheikah shrines that were such a mystery to everyone have vanished too, removing the one final light from the world. the zora watch as their buildings fall, all the time and effort and resources spent flowing down the rushing river, waiting for no plea for it to stop. distantly, someone sees king dorephan’s silver crown float away from them.

death mountain doesn’t hesitate to erupt above them. the gorons had managed to survive the heat for many years, but it only takes an unbelievably heavy rock to hit in one of the wrong places to create a fallen soldier. the eldin tower that had stood on the edge of the region falls after a mountain slide, the sea of rocks acting as a continuous battering ram proving to be too much for the lonesome statue. the lava levels rise, cutting off even more of the mines until it reaches the settlements, ruining whatever livelihoods people had wanted to save.

in the hebra, the rito freeze, their feathers too thin for the worst snowstorm hyrule has ever seen. it takes the children first. the ones that struggle to remain awake in their cots; the ones that have already lost their doting mothers and worried fathers so they have no one to snuggle up to. the village is coated in a thick layer of snow, so much so that the village elder— too late— decides to insulate a few of the houses with it until it's safe to leave again. those who don’t die by the cold waste away from the hunger and then the longing.

the ice melts in the gerudo region. even in the shade, the temperature is unbearably hot. sweltering heats cause even the toughest, best-equipped of guards to faint, leaving the town vulnerable to attack (if anyone could even manage to cross the desert without meeting an untimely death themselves). the stream that runs through the village transforms into steam, and their reserves of food begin to start cooking before it can even ripen. the feelings of dehydration begin to cause people to stop, whether if it’s because they physically can’t or they know there’s no chance of them ever recovering. not-quite-dead corpses rest up against their home walls as they wait for their countdown to come to an end.

the champions are forced to watch as their beloved knight and princess are ripped to pieces.

the first half of the fight was done, they observe. their tactile help had indeed been useful but, now, it was all down to the hero. link, as always, fought skillfully, the shine of the master sword leaving a faint buzz in the air it cut through. with a series of parries and cleverly timed blows, the scourge of hyrule castle is felled.

it collapses onto the floor, limbs weak with years-old exhaustion. fighting for so long never did any good for anybody. it attempts to struggle to its feet, though the malice that holds it together seems to be dripping all over the floor— it’s a little like blood, in a way. the swords it wields start to dim, and its eyes begin to fade away. when it crashes to the floor, the _bang!_ of its metal body against the stone floor vibrates through the chamber, almost shaking the room.

it gives a final cry before it begins to glow, a bright magenta that forces link to close his eyes. whatever essence remains of it seems to float up, up, up and away; link suddenly gets the feeling that the fight is far from over.

his body feels the tiredness kick in, now that the adrenaline starts to fade. a cut along his leg is what draws most of his attention, the thrumming of blood beneath his skin creating an awkward feeling of _ow, that didn’t hurt two minutes ago_. there’s no time for him to care, though, as he runs forward to watch it float away. he’s had his one hundred year rest; it’s his turn to be the sacrifice for the land.

when a light envelops him, he doesn’t fight it.

link appears in central hyrule, by his trusted companion, with the gift of the light bow given to him by none other than his princess. somehow, it all feels so wrong. a shield of yellow seems to shroud their fight, the setting sun in a seemingly frozen position as it observes the history being made before it.

dark beast ganon makes himself out of the ashes of his predecessor; link climbs on his horse and readies himself. but it’s quicker than it looks, and his horse doesn’t seem to be reaching the seem speeds as she used to. maybe it’s just him.

the way he commands her is lax, the blood leaking out of his thigh causing too much of a distraction. repeatedly drawing the bow back, his aim is as sloppy as someone who’s never seen an arrow in their life. worryingly, he hits his massive, glowing targets fewer times than he would have liked. the malice on the beast seems to be growing more confident, covering more of its body and making it further harder to hit. link doesn’t know what to do.

it can’t end like this. it can’t.

oh, but it does.

it does end, with the hero precisely pierced on its stretching horn. it ends with the hero dangling there, sword dropping from his hand as the light fades from his eyes. his spirit is absorbed by the beast, who feeds of it, feeds off of the killing, the sacrifice.

it never did anyone any good to fight for so long, after all.

the beast doesn’t stop there. the horse makes for a quick snack and it makes little work of it. before too long, the princess is forced to make her final stand too. it’s less heroic than her champions', her sealing power no force against the epitome of power, now that her courage has failed her.

all whilst the champions are forced to watch.

devastation isn’t a strong enough word to describe the feeling that’s invoked in them. the prophecy lied. their hard work was all for nothing. their friends are gone, their last living ties to the world of _before_ have disintegrated.

their spirits, once freed, are chained again, by the grief that clamps them down. how can they move on when the evil that fought still plagues the land? they watch as their villages, their homes, all fall apart. brick by brick. life by life.

no one fights back against it, not really. what can they do when their sworn protectors had failed them?

the fall of hyrule was never predicted. no one had ever wondered whether a prophecy could just be _wrong_. but it was, and now the world descends into ruin. this is the last of a land that was once prosperous and thriving.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i know it wasn't as lighthearted as usual but i couldn't get the image of the calamity taking over the world out of my head. i hope you enjoyed!!


End file.
